Contents

We open on Caesar's sacking legions. They're searching for food but Pompeii's men have been there first. They're going to slaughter the villagers for collaborating with Pompeii, but one of the villager's husband serves as a mercenary in Caesar's army.

He shows up, and challenges the Romans, they're about to spit him like a dog, when yells happen, and chakrams fly, and all of a sudden it's a Roman patrol versus one Greek mercenary, one Warrior Princess, and one women and children protecting, b*tt kicking bard.

Great fight scene - Gabrielle, in addition to gabwhacking everything in sight, deflects a spear in flight in a nice move. After the Romans run away, the mercenary tells Xena she can't stop the Roman civil war Caesar has brought to Greek soil. Xena tell him, on the contrary, she's there to make sure it happens. (Xenamotto - when you can't kill them all yourself, get them to kill all of themselves. It's catchy, I like it.)

Xena convinces Phlanagus to help them trap Caesar and Pompeii. Gabrielle is gathering fighters and supplies. She finds a kid who can shoot a bow (I mean really can) and lets him convince her to let him join the effort. You can see Gabrielle doesn't want him anywhere near, she sees herself in him.

Xena finds a way to get the women and children to safety, but tells the villagers they have to destroy the village. Gabrielle asks her. "Are you sure about this." Xena answers. "Yes." They watch as the village is destroyed.. I think this is one of the scenes from the Alti flash forwards.

Note: Xena looks nice in Roman armor. She pretends to be part of Caesar's army, and claims a hill. Pompeii immediately decides the hill is important and decides to attack. They attack each other, then Caesar picks up the standard they're fighting over, and realizes it's a double standard (laughing) and immediately says, "Xena!" (and he knows this because of the quality of the embroidery on it, right? Or does he smell her distinctive scent? Who knows?"

A scene of getting ready for battle: boiling bandages. Gabrielle gets to listen to how much Phlanagus' wife wants him safe, and the doe-eyed kid wonders what it's like to kill someone. Gabrielle tells him. "It changes Everything. Everything."

Xena gets captured? No, it's ruse. She listens in to the plans of Caesar, but Phlanagus is caught, and about to be executed. Xena catches up with the executioner and breaks his neck.(Xenamotto - War is hell) They escape.

Xena tells Gabrielle she needs her to lead the villagers - Gabrielle tells Xena she can't do that. Xena accepts that and says she'll get Flanagan to do it.

Pompeii meets Xena in the forest trying to cut a deal. Caesar shows up and it turns out to be a trap by Xena. They fight, Xena does a nice 'kill them all' twirl and spit maneuver, then Pompeii and Caesar fight off to one side. Xena joins them, and the ground collapses under them.

It's halftime.. phew.. so far this is a nice, c Xena episode, not a giggling lice, or rabid rabbit to be seen or Argo for that matter.

They come back and say that Caesar's legions are retreating but Gabrielle knows it's a trap. She stops Phlanagus from retreating the villagers. He says before she left, Xena told him to listen to Gabrielle, to trust her. He does. Gabrielle leads the villagers into battle.

Xena finds out the rest of the plan and leaves Pompeii and Caesar to fight as she goes to find Gabrielle and becomes this one woman two handed sword wielding killing machine.

The plan works. Both armies attack each other, and the villagers start them fighting. Gabrielle does an amazing job of gabwhacking.

When Xena returns from Caesar and Pompeii, she rejoins the battle against the armies. While in combat, we see another one of Alti's premonitions of Xena's future come to pass. (This marks the second time Xena realizes that what Alti showed her came true, just as predicted.)

I had to stop writing and just watch here, because 5this was just an incredible couple of minutes of television. I'll try to describe it, but you all are going to have to see it for yourselves.

Gabrielle watches Phlanagus fight, and he sees her, and raises his sword in salute and gets clobbered from behind. A man is going to stab him, and Gabrielle picks up a spear to stop him - but fires it into a pile of dirt instead. She can't kill.

Phlanagus gets spitted, but his attacker gets shot in the heart with an arrow from the doe-eyed kid. Gabrielle goes and holds Phlanagus as he dies, then she reacts in total rage, screaming and jerking his body around.

Pompeii and Caesar fight for awhile, then realize it's gone silent above them, and they come out of the caves, to find utter desolation. Their armies have destroyed each other.

Xena finds Gabrielle crouching over Phlanagus' body and she hugs her. Then they have a funeral pyre for him, and the other village dead.. Xena sings. They all leave, and his wife tells Xena thank you and that she's going to tell her son his father was a simple fisherman.

Xena goes to where Gabrielle is standing and Gabrielle says she could have saved him. Xena tells her. As hard as it is to accept, things really do happen for a reason, and that she's seen so many changes in Gabrielle, but Gabrielle has to believe there's a purpose behind it, or else what's the point?

Gabrielle accepts Xena's reasoning, at least for now, and agrees that it was "a good day of fighting." An emotionally drained Gabrielle goes and tries to console the boy who killed a man with his arrow. She hopes he understands that it was "a good day."